This invention relates generally to animal traps, and more specifically to animal traps suitable for use with animals such as mice.
Typically, an animal trap of the type relevant here includes an enclosure and a movable door of some type. Once the animal passes into the enclosure the door closes, preventing escape.
One type of animal trap that has been used in the past relies on a spring catch of some sort to hold the door in the closed position and to prevent the animal from opening the door and escaping. This approach brings with it the complexity of the spring mechanism and the need to reset the spring mechanism.
A simple hinged door which is prevented from opening outwardly is not effective, because such a door can be opened inwardly by an animal such as a mouse, which can scratch and claw at the edges of the door until a grip is obtained for lifting. Simple gravity operated doors have the important advantages that they are simple to manufacture and that they automatically reset once the animal has passed through the door. However, they suffer from the disadvantage described above. Perhaps for this reason they do not appear to have been used on a widespread scale commercially.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved animal trap that uses animal-actuated, gravity-lowered doors, yet which substantially prevents the animal from opening the doors for escape.
It is another object of this invention to provide a simple, low cost animal trap that can be molded or otherwise formed from inexpensive plastic materials, and yet which operates reliably and effectively.